Devotionals for the Heart: Life lessons learned from a puppy named Halo

Bound to God
A devotional by Glynis Becker

“And the Lord will guide you continually and satisfy your desire in scorched places and make your bones strong; and you shall be like a watered garden, like a spring of water, whose waters do not fail.” —Isaiah 58:11 (ESV)

We have a sweet rescue poodle named Halo. She’s been part of our family for the last seven years. She was a stray, so we have no idea where she came from, how old she is, or what her life was like before us.

For many years after we got her, when we went to put her on her leash to go for a walk, she would pull and jump and twist for blocks and blocks. (Her penchant for turning circles is what gave us the idea for her name.) She would wrap herself up in the leash and we’d have to stumble around her and stop every so often to untangle her. It was annoying, and funny, and sometimes a little dangerous. We would look at her and say with great affection, “Halo! Why can’t you just be normal? Why can’t you just walk with us?”

Now that she is older, her eyesight is starting to dim. She can’t see where she’s going quite as well, so when we put the leash on her, she isn’t quite as excited. We sometimes have to pull her along beside us. Because of her lowered energy level and partial blindness, she isn’t as comfortable walking in unfamiliar places. She is more easily scared. So these days we say, still with great affection, “Halo! Why can’t you just let us lead you? Trust us. We won’t let you get hurt.”

How like our walk with the Lord is this? When things are new and the days are filled with sunshine, we get excited to be on the path with Him. We let Him lead us in His way, full of passion for the Gospel, the Good News that Jesus Christ is Who He says He is. Passion for the lost, love for our fellow humans and a need to be close to Christ take over our lives and we’re happy to go where He wants us to.

But as the days get darker and we’ve been on this path longer and longer, sometimes we lose sight of the fact that the Lord is still leading us. The more we read the Bible and pray, we should learn that we need Him more, not less. We should learn that being tied to Him is the best place to be. But sometimes we need to be dragged into something new or different or uncomfortable. Or we wander “off the leash” and find our own kind of trouble.

Today I’m praying that I allow God to lead me wherever and to whatever He has for me. I don’t want to miss His call on my life because I’m too busy pulling at the leash.

This image makes me think of the classic hymn, “Come, Thou Fount of Every Blessing.” One line from the lyrics written by Robert Robinson says:

“O to grace how great a debtor

Daily I’m constrained to be!

Let that grace, Lord, like a fetter,

Bind my wand’ring heart to Thee.”

I don’t want to be bound to anything that isn’t eternal. Only God’s grace, like in this hymn, can give me everything I need to walk with Him. That is what will lead me where He wants me to go.

Let’s pray: Dear Lord, bind me to You. No matter how hard I might push back, remind me that You know and want what is best for me. I want to love Your grace more than the things of the world. Help me trust that even if You lead me into something hard, you will never leave me to face it alone. Make my words be a light to others that will lead them to You as well. In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.

~*~
Author Bio:

Glynis Becker writes devotions and inspirational fiction, hoping someday to have a published novel on her resume.

She has co-written several screenplays, including the film Sinking Sand, available on DVD and digital streaming.

Glynis, whose childhood was spent all over the country as an Air Force brat, has called South Dakota home for many years, along with her husband and two teenage children.

When she’s not writing or reading, she is watching more television than she should and crocheting.

You can find her at www.glynisbecker.com.